Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
September 22, 2018

Her Majesty’s Prison at Dodds was not at all what 21-year-old Kamal Kemar Harewood was expecting.

Twenty-eight days ago the Forde’s Road, Clapham, Christ Church resident boldly told Magistrate Douglas Frederick: “Send me to jail, I don’t want to go the Psychiatric Hospital, I want to go jail. I know people up jail, I don’t know nobody at Psychi.”

When he returned before the same magistrate today, however, there was none of that gusto and he was instead begging to be freed.

“I am sorry sir. I am very sorry for telling you so . . . . I didn’t see my friends . . . I wanted to experience it . . . [But] last time I made a bad decision,” said Harewood, who had previously pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon, namely a cutlass, at Rendezvous Hill on August 23, as well as assaulting and resisting Police Constable Rommel Downes and resisting Station Sergeant Paul Vaughan.

Magistrate Frederick then told Harewood that he knew that prison was not the right place for him on the last occasion.

“Prison was not going to help you . . . The Psychiatric Hospital was where you had to go to see what was going on. You were also very disrespectful to your mother while you were in court and I do not condone that,” the magistrate stated prompting Harewood to again apologize.

“I am really sorry sir, that will never happen again. I don’t really want to go back to prison. I was not taking my medication . . . But I taking my medication now and . . . I in a stable mind now sir . . . I am telling you from my heart that I will stay away from bad company,” Harewood said as he began to cry.

Harewood’s attorney Safiya Moore then made an application for him to be transferred to the Black Rock institution for an assessment.

However, the magistrate made it clear that Harewood had derailed the “entire rehabilitation” process that both the court and his mother had been trying to get him 28 days prior.

“I apologize mummy for disrespecting you in front the court the last time. It will never happen again. I am willing to go to the Psychiatric Hospital now,” he said to his mother who accepted the apology.

He was then transferred from Dodds, St Philip to Black Rock, St Michael for three weeks to return to the District ‘A’ Magistrate’s Court on October 15.

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2 thoughts on “Change of heart”

Honestly

Thank you Jesus that this young man has learnt from the error of his ways and I pray that his mum stay close,strong and work with him but please seek help immediately you observe any change that is of concern to you,Don’t allow pride prevent you from saying we are not coping,the majority love our children to death and when incidents as this and more serious occurs it’s as though we’ve been kicked in the gut by a mule.So if this young man is truly remorseful he is deserving of a second chance and as his mother here is your opportunity to set boundaries which he should respect and embraced.The young is the future,can each of us responsible adults take one youngster in our community and help them and help should come in many forms.